An injury, a slip and memories
by Arete Panthar
Summary: That independent story that I had talked about. Stelios gets injured and Climene slips - a difficult day that could be just that, but that is also filled with some memories... like when Stelios talked to his future father-in-law.
Hey there! FINALLY, the promised story! YAY! I wish I had finished it sooner, but inspiration just wouldn't come to me... hahaha

It began without the intention of being a tale with memories, it was supposed to be just a story in which Stelios gets angry with Climene and how they deal with it, but one fine day the idea of exploring memories seemed like such a good idea that I decided to try. After all, how can the day when Stelios talked Climene's father into taking him as a son-in-law not be a good idea? I bet you'll like it! XD

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Climene had walked away from the city farther than what she used to, in order to pick up some wild berries that she had saw a few times and later proved that they were fresher and sweeter than the ones she was used to. So now, every once in a while, she would walk a few miles away from the city's limits, go down a small, lightly inclined path and get to the berries. Stelios hadn't tasted them yet, because every time she would pick the berries he would be at the barracks. Hopefully he would get to know them soon.

At the sight of the dark, rape and inviting berries in a loaded tree, Climene smiled touching them. Even choosing among them wasn't a hard choice, because they were all good. It was quite a treasure, and a bit of a wonder that she was always by herself whenever she got there. She should tell her friends, there were plenty berries for everyone. She loaded her basket and was about to go, when she saw someone coming in her direction. The person was a bit far, but she could tell that it was a man, and apparently he was limping, supporting himself with the aid of a long stick. But when he got closer, she saw that he wore a cape, and the stick was a spear. There was no mistake: the man was a Spartan. She couldn't see his face, for he had his head low. And when he got fairly close to her, she saw that is was no one else than Stelios.

He was breathing heavily, and his left leg was injured. But it was only when she looked carefully at it that she saw it was a big injury, scarlet red and quite deep on his thigh. She got alarmed and ran to his side. "Stelios, what happened?"

"I got injured during the training", he said with quite an effort, barely able to look at her. His brow was deeply furrowed, and he was sweating – two signs that the injury was really troubling him. Climene looked at it again worried, and said: "That is an ugly injury". He nodded, closing his eyes and pressing his lips together. Without thinking twice, she left her basket on the ground and put his left arm around her back, and encircled his back with her right arm. Looking at her, he asked: "What are you doing?" Looking back at him, she answered: "I am helping you to walk, what else?", with a smile. Letting out a tired sigh, he said: "You cannot walk dragging me to Sparta, I can barely walk holding myself with this spear". She knew a bit of it could be true, but nevertheless she kept her smile and answered: "I will just have to try, then". Stelios, being very tired – it had been a long distance from the barracks to that place, an infinite distance for him in those conditions – did not reply. He just held closer to his spear to regain balance. Listening to the sound of rumbling clouds, Climene looked up and saw a sky starting to turn heavy. It had been a cloudy day so far, but with no signs of rain. And now she hopped that the rain would at least wait for them to get to Sparta. So they started to walk.

She left her basket (there would be no way to take it along) and they took a few steps. As Stelios was taller than her, she had to be careful so that his weight would not go all to her side, making her loose balance. But luckily he was managing to throw his weight to his right side, holding to the spear. Then she realized the road would already start to get tricky: the lightly inclined part, that was no obstacle for a non-injured person, was quite a challenge to someone with an injured leg. And a bigger one to two people trying to pass together. But they had to do it. There was no other way. So Climene took in a breath and took a few steps ahead, to firm her feet and then allow Stelios to take his steps. "Come", she said to him, and he went.

They gave their first steps and they seemed fine, but when Climene thought her feet were firm enough, her left foot slipped and she lost balance, pulling Stelios and making him bend his injured leg. He let out a loud groan, gritting his teeth. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry!", she apologized, feeling like the worst person in the world. "You must exercise you balance at once!", he said through gritted teeth in a harsh tone. She lowered her head, feeling her face getting hot. If she had been a little more applied to the physical exercises when she was younger, maybe that would not have happened. But that was no moment to think about the past. So she swallowed her guilt and regaining her composure, she pressed her feet more firmly to the ground and helped Stelios to stand straight. They gave more solid steps until they were out of the inclined path. Climene let out a sigh of relief, and Stelios, a tired sigh of pain. There was still a long distance to Sparta, and Climene looked in dismay to the grey clouds that were getting closer. They needed to hurry a little bit, she thought with a few hair strands falling on her face.

Stelios must have understood her thoughts, because he made an effort to walk faster, but it clearly costed him a considerable amount of pain. Climene stopped and looked at him, concerned. "Do you want to rest a bit?", she asked. "No. We must continue, or the rain will fall and then it will be worse", he said with his eyes firmly shut. Climene nodded. She was starting to feel her shoulders aching a little due to the weight of Stelios' muscular arm, but it seemed better to go on and then have all the time in the world to recover calmly. If only her bun would not start untying itself and making a mess of hair… but it was still not impairing her vision, so she went on.

The closer they got to the city, the closer the rain seemed to get as well. "Oh father Zeus, please hold this heavy rain just for a little longer…", Climene asked mentally. With a few more steps she could feel her bun was practically gone and she cursed herself for having tied it low on that day. Fortunately the wind was blowing the hair strands of her face and refreshing the sweat. She looked at Stelios through the corner of her eye. He had still his head low and the eyes shut, holding firmly to his spear. She admired his strength, his arm never seemed to vacillate nor did his hand seem to slip. But she had to pay attention to the road, not wanting the incident from a short distance ago to happen again.

So after what had seemed miles and miles, they finally arrived to Sparta. And the minute they stepped on the limits of the city, the rain began to fell in heavy drops. The loose hair strands started to glue on Climene's face, and she hurried with Stelios in a way that he almost could not keep up with. Struggling a little with the way home, they arrived to their house before the rain got too heavy. Stelios almost could not fight the pain anymore, and he needed Climene's help to not collapse on the bed.

She helped him to lay against his back and she ran to get some water to clean the wound. She came back with a basin full of water and a piece of cloth and started at once to clean the blood. Stelios held his breath with his remaining strength as she approached the sensitive area, where he had suffered the cut. She was as careful as she could, but she had to get as close as she could to the injury as well. Fortunately it hadn't been too deep, and she would have to give just a few stitches. And fortunately, that was one of the things that she could do well.

So she went searching for a line and a needle, and when Stelios thought his suffering was coming to an end, he saw her come back with those instruments. He gritted his teeth and had a look of disapproval in his eyes. She had a sorrow look in hers, but it had to be done. So she sat by his side putting the line in the hole of the needle, and he closed his eyes and held his breath. She felt like saying something, but thinking better she remained silent and started to give the stitches. The noise made by the rain covered Stelios' screams of pain, when he could not hold them. Climene kept calm and ignoring her husband's pain, that she knew would soon be gone, managed to quickly finish the stitches. "There", she said in a happy whisper touching his knee. Stelios stopped debating himself and laid still, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. Climene stood up and looked at him with pity. She thought it would be better to let him rest for a while and took the basin and the cloth away to wash them.

A few minutes later, she came back and found Stelios apparently asleep. His expression was serene. She remembered her face was still covered in sweat and her hair was a mess, the bun hanging low, but she did not mind it. She approached the bed as silently as she could, sat down and put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. That was when he frowned and his eyelids trembled, as if he would lift them, and that was what he did. She smiled at him a bit shyly, and he returned her smile with a pale one. "How are you feeling?"

He let out a long breath before answering: "Better", with a husky voice. His temperature was normal, no fever. She made lighter than a feather caresses on his hair, and asked: "Did the stitches hurt bad?". He closed lightly his eyes and said "No. The pain was already there", referring to the injury. Then he opened his eyes and looked directly at her. She stopped her movements. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have talked to you like that when you slipped".

She took away her hand, getting serious. Climene had even forgot about that incident, and remembering it made her feel ashamed. She lowered her gaze and tried to ease her discomfort removing some hair strands of her face. "It's no problem", she said in a shy voice, "You were right in correcting me".

She could see that he shook his head no, lightly frowning. She heard him say "Here", and saw his right arm in her direction, as if he asked her to lie down with him, which she did. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she took comfort in his warm embrace. "No", he continued, "you were trying to help me and I lost my composure. I'm sorry, the pain was too much and when my leg bended…"

"It's alright", she softly interrupted him, and he looked down to her, "my father talked in a similar way to me when I was younger and had committed a mistake inside the house. I guess I had let a vase full of milk fall down and break, and he censored me for my lack of strength. He was a bit harsh, but I recognized that he was right. Later he came to talk to me and said he regretted the way he had spoken, for I was a good daughter and there was need for him to talk like that".

Stelios was surprised, he didn't know that story that she had told him so calmly. But he knew that she was a little sad remembering that, and that the moment his father was harsh with her she must have felt terrible. She probably felt the same when he acted in a similar way with her today. And he felt as bad as her father must have felt. Holding her a little tighter, he whispered through her hair:

"You must not feel guilty for what happened today. Please don't feel ashamed", he said running his hand through her arm, "Forgive me for my harsh tone".

She felt as if the sadness that was weighing in her chest for remembering that story was fading away. She remembered her father apologizing to her and herself nodding and quickly wiping away the one tear that fell from her eyes. She remembered him kissing her forehead and gently telling her to work on her strength, and she smiled feeling warmer inside. She moved a little so she could rest her head on his chest, and putting a hand on the other side of his chest, she said in a soft tone:

"Alright. Let us forget about this". She caressed his chest, he took her hand in his and caressed it. He needed to keep in mind that she was sensitive to these things, and watch his tone in these occasions. Climene could be a little tricky sometimes.

Bending a little his injured leg, now that the pain had given in, he looked at the stitches and said: "Fine work, by the way".

She looked at his leg and laughed a little. "I am glad you liked it". And looking at him, she remembered he had been covered in sweat not less than half hour ago, and started to prop herself up. "I will get a wet piece of cloth, so that you can refresh your skin".

"What?", he said in his still husky voice, "There's no need".

"You were covered in sweat just half hour ago", she said already half sit on the bed, "It's just to cool the skin". She realized he was holding her by the arms with his hands. "Come on", he said in a lightly pleading voice, with languid eyes, "Stay a little longer".

"I will be back in a minute", she said laughing lightly, while trying to get rid of his grip, in vain. With the movement, she ended up slipping by the second time in the day, but this time she fell softly next to his face. Her hair covered it, and she heard his muffled laugh very next to her ear. Relieved that no one had been (more) injured, she smiled and fell that his lips were already on her skin, kissing the area right below the ear lobe. They continued through her jaw line, she couldn't help but sigh. They went slowly up her chin until they reached her lips, and she met them laying again on the bed. Then she got completely up and went to get him a wet piece of cloth. He passed it through his body and she lied next to him again. When she did so, he passed the piece of cloth delicately through her own face, neck and arms, saying she was also covered in sweat after their long and difficult walk. Smiling, she let him do it.

They fell asleep to the sound of the rain. When it was dawn, Stelios woke up and saw Climene still completely asleep by his side. He remembered when he asked her hand in marriage to her father.

He had looked suspiciously at the candidate. Antinoos was still a vigorous man, in spite of his 50 years, and even looked younger than his real age. His thin face didn't show many signs of aging, and his beard still had few silver hairs. The same with his hair, tied in a short tail: it was still manly deep brown, the same color as his eyes. Looking at her mother, Stelios could see that Climene had inherited her black hair from her. Althea showed more signs of aging than her husband, though she had changed little since her youth, he had heard. In her dark hair there were more silver strands, and around her eyes there were more lines, but curiously her eyes had a slightly dark tone of grey. So who was responsible for Climene's black eyes? He couldn't help but wonder.

He knew why her parents – but specially her father – were so suspicious about his proposal. Climene wasn't exactly a coveted damsel, and her presence was frequently unnoticed. So why would he, an Elite guard soldier, be interested in taking her as a wife, instead of a more prized Spartan woman? Her father looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The situation was just amusing to Stelios, and he had to hold back a stubborn smile more than once.

Antinoos was a reasonable man, so Stelios knew that, in spite of his famous strength, he would not try to intimidate him. And when the older man invited him to come in, seriousness took all over him and he did not feel like smiling again. They entered the house, and Climene and her mother went to another room.

"Let us sit down, Stelios", Antinoos said in a calm voice, indicating two chairs standing one in front of each other.

"Yes, sir", he answered in the most respectful tone he could. Both men sat down and stood with their back as straight as they could, staring at each other. Antinoos continued to analyze Stelios with a raised eyebrow, but this time he had a pale smile in his face, in a more welcoming expression.

"So, Stelios", he started maintaining his calm tone, "why don't you tell me exactly what your intentions are?"

Stelios was amused in the inside. Antinoos was really suspicious of him. And maybe if he was in his place, he would be as well. "I intend to marry your daughter, sir", he answered in the simpler way possible.

Antinoos' smile grew wider. "Well, you see. My daughter isn't exactly the ideal Spartan damsel. I am sure that you are well aware of that. So I am having a hard time believing that you, an Elite soldier, came here purely with the intention of asking my permission to marry her".

Well, he had put it in a very precise way. It was pretty much what every person in Sparta would think, if they knew about his idea of marrying Climene. But that was exactly why he was prepared to answer that.

"Sir", he began, and Antinoos crossed his arms above his chest, "with all due respect, I am aware that your daughter is not what most Spartans would call a suitable wife". He knew that was kind of bold, but Antinoos himself had put the same thing with different words, and the older man seemed to look at him with no signs of disapproval. "But I can assure you I am not among these Spartans. I see your daughter as a suitable wife for me".

Maybe he had walked into a trap here. Antinoos could ask what a suitable wife meant for him. Maybe it had sounded as if he wanted Climene for something other than a wife. "Still", he heard the other man say, "I cannot understand why someone in your position wouldn't want a more… distinct wife".

Antinoos had put Stelios' thoughts with slightly different words. Was it a test? It was starting to look like one. Stelios gripped his thigh a little firmer, and after regaining his confidence, he said: "Your daughter is a distinct woman for me, sir". Now Antinoos had surely tried to figure what he meant by that. "She has a grace that I don't find in any other Spartan women. Her discreet posture catches my eye, more than the boldness displayed by other damsels".

"You have a peculiar taste, then".

It was a test. But even when he was ironical, Antinoos did not lose his diplomatic tone. Maybe he thought that this soldier only meant to sound flattering so that he would convince him. Stelios had to show him otherwise. So he decided to make his last try:

"Sir, I want to marry you daughter and nothing more", he said closing his eyes and lightly bowing his head, with all the seriousness he was capable of. He waited for Antinoos' answer. If he did not believe him, Stelios wouldn't know what else to say. So after what seemed a really long pause (even though it might have lasted only a few seconds), the older man said:

"Stelios, what guarantees do I have that you want to seriously marry my daughter?"

Tough one. He could see that Antinoos had gotten up, and that he still had his arms crossed. So thinking of the best answer that he could possibly think of, Stelios raised his head and said:

"You have my word, sir".

Antinoos lifted his chin, as if the young man had intrigued him. Stelios once again bowed his head. He could swear that he had saw a slight change of opinion in Antinoos' eyes, but he couldn't know for sure. He waited for his answer. After what seemed another long pause, he heard him say:

"Very well, then".

They were married a few days later, Stelios thought as he came to the end of that memory. Maybe his word as an Elite guard soldier did count for something after all, he thought with a smile. He felt Climene moving in his embrace and he looked down to her. Soon she opened her eyes and with a small smile, she asked in a still sleepy voice:

"Why were you laughing?"

So she had heard his discreet laugh. He turned his eyes to the window. "I was remembering the day when I talked your father into allowing me to marry you".

Climene returned her head to its original position and was silent for a moment. "Were you out of your mind?", he heard her ask, all of a sudden in a serious and a little sad voice. All this time after that and she still was insecure.

"No, I was in my perfect senses", he answered keeping his smile, looking to her and holding her closer. She looked at him with her big black eyes. "At least that's what the doctor said".

She let a small laugh come out, closing her eyes once again. And looking to the ceiling, he added:

"And so I got my distinct Spartan wife".

Climene laughed again and slapped him lightly on the chest.


End file.
